Integration of voice chat services

Abstract

A communication system provides a user with the ability to redirect telephone calls to a voice chat account and vice versa. In one example, a voice chat gateway may receive communication requests and determine whether communications directed to a first party is to be redirected. If so, the voice chat gateway may reroute the communication request to an appropriate destination. For instance, a user may request that all communications such as telephone calls be rerouted as a voice chat to the user's voice chat account. Alternatively, a user may request that all communications including voice chats be redirected to a telephone number. Users may further be allowed to call a voice chat account through a telephone network and initiate a voice chat with a telephone number through a data network.

I claim: 
     
       1. A system comprising:
 one or more processors; and 
 memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the system to:
 receive a user specification for a manner in which to route communication requests; 
 receive a communication request corresponding to voice communication from a communication-initiating user, wherein the voice communication is directed to an intended recipient; 
 determine, based on the received user specification, that the communication request is to be routed to a messaging service, wherein the user specification is defined by the intended recipient; 
 determine a first account of a messaging service corresponding to the intended recipient of the received communication request; and 
 establish a voice chat with the intended recipient through the first account using the messaging service. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein establishing the voice chat with the intended recipient includes transmitting a chat request from a second account registered to the communication-initiating user to the first account through the messaging service. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user specification includes an instruction to direct a communication request to a first destination under a first condition and an instruction to direct the communication request to a second destination under a second condition. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to:
 receive the voice communication through a telephony network; and 
 transmit the voice communication through the messaging service to the intended recipient. 
 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communication request is received through a telephony network and includes a messaging service identifier of the intended recipient. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to, prior to transmitting the voice communication, transcode audio data included in the voice communication. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communication request is directed to a telephone number and wherein determining the first account of the messaging service includes identifying the first account in a database using the telephone number. 
     
     
       8. A method comprising:
 receiving, by a computing device, a communication request corresponding to voice communication from a communication-initiating user; 
 identifying, by the computing device, a messaging service with which an intended recipient of the received communication request is registered, wherein the messaging service is identified from a plurality of messaging services; 
 establishing, by the computing device, a communication channel between the identified messaging service with which the intended recipient is registered and another messaging service of the plurality of messaging services; and 
 sending a message, by the computing device, from the other messaging service to the identified messaging service. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein sending the message includes transmitting a chat request from the other messaging service to an account of the intended recipient at the identified messaging service. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining whether the chat request was accepted and in response to determining that the chat request was not accepted, redirecting the communication request to a message server. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising sending the message from a messaging account at the other messaging service to the account of the intended recipient. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the messaging account at the other messaging service corresponds to an account of the communication-initiating user. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the communication request is received through a telephone network and the communication channel is established through a data network different from the telephone network. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 8 , wherein identifying the messaging service with which the identified recipient is registered is performed using user-specified configuration information. 
     
     
       15. A method comprising:
 receiving a user specification for a manner in which to route communication requests; 
 receiving, by a computing device, a communication request corresponding to voice communication from a communication-initiating user, wherein the voice communication is directed to an intended recipient; 
 determining, based on the received user specification, that the communication request is to be routed to a messaging service, wherein the user specification is defined by the intended recipient; 
 determining, by the computing device, a first account of a messaging service registered to the intended recipient of the received communication request; 
 
       and
 establishing, by the computing device, a communication channel between the communication-initiating user and the first account through the messaging service. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the communication request is received through a telephone network. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising identifying a second account of the messaging service based on a telephone number in the communication request. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 15 , wherein establishing the communication channel includes sending a chat request to the first account and wherein the method further comprises:
 determining whether the chat request was accepted and in response to determining that the chat request was not accepted, redirecting the communication request to a messaging server. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 15 , wherein receiving the user specification includes receiving instructions to direct a communication request to a first destination under a first condition and to direct the communication request to a second destination under a second condition. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , wherein the first condition is a first range of time and the second condition is a second range of time. 
     
     
       21. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to:
 receive a user specification for a manner in which to route communication requests; 
 receive a communication request corresponding to voice communication from a communication-initiating user, wherein the voice communication is directed to an intended recipient; 
 determine, based on the received user specification, that the communication request is to be routed to a messaging service, wherein the user specification is defined by the intended recipient; 
 determine a first account of a messaging service registered to the intended recipient of the received communication request; 
 
       and
 establish a communication channel between the communication-initiating user and the first account through the messaging service. 
 
     
     
       22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 21 , wherein establishing the communication channel includes establishing a voice chat with the intended recipient by transmitting a chat request from a second account registered to the communication-initiating user to the first account through the messaging service. 
     
     
       23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 21 , wherein the user specification includes an instruction to direct a communication request to a first destination under first condition and an instruction to direct the communication request to a second destination under a second condition. 
     
     
       24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 21 , wherein the computer readable instructions; when executed, further cause the apparatus to:
 receive the voice communication through a telephony network; and 
 transmit the voice communication through the messaging service to the intended recipient.